Memorable Manitobans: George William Northwood (1876-1959)

George William Northwood Click to enlarge

Architect, war hero.

Born at Ottawa, Ontario on 12 December 1876, son of William Northwood and Margaret Wilson, he was educated the Ottawa College Institute and McGill University (Montreal). In 1900, he commenced a career as an architect with K. Arnoldi of Ottawa.

In 1905, he came to Winnipeg and practiced until early 1907 with William Wallace Blair. He was responsible for designing many fine buildings around the city. He also had a business interest in the Manitoba Linseed Oil Company and National Securities Company.

With the outbreak of the First World War, when he went overseas with the 8th Battalion. Captured by the Germans in April 1915, he was held in a prisoner of war camp with John Kidd Bell. He returned to Winnipeg in 1918 as a Major, having been awarded the Military Cross. He established the architectural firm of Northwood and Chivers in partnership with Cyril William Upton Chivers.

From 1931 to 1933, he was Dominion superintendent of unemployment and farm relief. He was a Chairman of the Sanatorium Board of Manitoba (1943-1948). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 1938. He was President of the Manitoba Association of Architects (1923) and Manitoba Club (1931-1932). Later in his life he was President of the Northern Canadian Mortgage Company.

In 1906, he married Augusta Campion “Gussie” Simson (c1880-1960) of Thorold, Ontario and they had four daughters: Mary Frances Margaret Northwood (1907-1994, wife of Richard Henry Gardyne Bonnycastle), Margaret Constance Northwood (1909-?), Rosamund Campion Northwood (1911-?, wife of Charles Pritchard), and Barbara Northwood (1915-?, wife of George Blackwell).

He died at Winnipeg on 15 December 1959 and was buried in the St. John’s Cathedral Cemetery.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Naylor House	797 Honeyman Avenue, Winnipeg	1905
Boyce Block	48 Lydia Street, Winnipeg	1906
Northern Bank Building	139 Main Street, Melita	1906
Ryan Block	44 Princess Street, Winnipeg	1906
Northern Crown Bank Building	654 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1908	Demolished (1983)
Crescent Court	207 Hugo Street North, Winnipeg	1908
Guest Block (expansion)	596-598 Main Street, Winnipeg	1909
Miller House	42 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg	1909
Kirkland Apartments	377 Carlton Street, Winnipeg	1909
Lancaster Apartments	411 Stradbrook Avenue, Winnipeg	1909
Vermont Court	377 Carlton Street, Winnipeg	1909
McDonald House (Mrs. F. M. McDonald)	555 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg	1909-1910
Wellington Apartments	264-276 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg	1909-1910
Bannatyne Apartments	545 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg	1910
Columbia Block	853-857 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg	1910
Lilac Court	172 Lilac Street, Winnipeg	1910
Northern Crown Bank Building (addition)	232 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1910	Destroyed by fire (27 December 1955)
Phoenix Block	388 Donald Street, Winnipeg	1910
St. Helena Court	226 Cockburn Street North, Winnipeg	1910	Demolished (?)
Telegram Printing Building	54 Adelaide Street, Winnipeg	1910
Richards House	638 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg	1911
Richards and Brown Warehouse	132 James Avenue, Winnipeg	1911
Ulrich House	54 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg	1911
Finnie and Murray Block / Western Glove Works	321 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg	1912
Telegram Printing Building (addition)	54 Adelaide Street, Winnipeg	1912
Whitla House (Mrs. R. J. Whitla)	151 Yale Avenue, Winnipeg	1912
Benard House	40 East Gate, Winnipeg	1912
Fontana Apartments	321 Stradbrook Avenue, Winnipeg	1913
Ralph Connor House	54 West Gate, Winnipeg	1913
Pantages Theatre (supervision)	180 Market Avenue, Winnipeg	1913-1914
After 1919	See Northwood and Chivers

Sources:

Ontario birth registration, Ancestry.

Birth registrations [Mary Frances Margaret Northwood, Margaret Constance Northwood, Rosamund Northwood], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Northern Crown’s new bank bldg.,” Winnipeg Tribune, 1 June 1910, page 9.

1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

Who’s Who in Western Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of Western Canada, Volume 1, edited by C. W. Parker, Vancouver: Canadian Press Association, 1911.

Marriage [Rosamund Campion Northwood], Winnipeg Tribune, 3 September 1942, page 16.

“Downtown building just mass of rubble,” Winnipeg Tribune, 27 December 1955, page 1.

“George W. Northwood dead at 83,” Winnipeg Free Press, 15 December 1959.

Obituary [Augusta C. Northwood], Winnipeg Tribune, 18 April 1960, page 12.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

George William Northwood, Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950.

1905 - Northern Bank, Winnipeg, Archiseek.

We thank Nathan Kramer, Christian Cassidy, Jordan Makichuk, Lyle Brennen, and Andrew Kirkpatrick for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 3 June 2023

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!